10

No More Rain

It was not in fact one of the wettest summers that New York was going to experience, simply because after the event, there was no more rain. A month had passed and there had been no sign of a dense cloud, not even a tuff. Pauline felt it was a good thing. Her arm was over her stomach and her irregular breaths brought her slight comfort. She didn't remember how she ended up in her room. Her mind had been blank for hours and her actions were nearly uncontrollable. She didn't hurt herself, though. That was a good thing.

Her mind landed on that 'Klutz' guy that Waluigi had talked to on the beam back then. He was arrested, but no one knew who he was. It was almost as if he had just appeared out of nowhere. Then again, so did Waluigi. Pauline had seen him only twice before they formally met, but each time he would disappear before the sun set.

And her mind landed on Waluigi. He was a strange man. Unpredictable, unfaithful, sneaky, little, conniving . . .

Pauline looked over at the ring on the vanity. It was the only piece of jewelry left, but that didn't matter to Pauline a month ago, and she felt that it didn't matter now either.

He did come back.

He did give her the ring back instead of trading it in.

He did save her life.

Perhaps Waluigi wasn't as bad as she initially thought. But, he was gone now, and she felt the slightest bit happy that he was.

Pauline looked out her window and down at the black lamp-post. There was no one nearby. She looked away and lay back down on the squeaky bed.

She would follow the same morning routine of looking out her bedroom window for the next few weeks.

The black Bob-Omb before the six exploded, sending them all to the ground. Waluigi shook his head and rubbed his temples. Luigi advanced towards him, a fierce scowl on his face. He pointed his tennis racket directly at the purple plumber's pointed nose. "Luigi not afraid," he repeated in a cross voice. Waluigi smirked and pushed the racket away from his face with his index finger. Luigi pulled it back quickly. He walked away confidently. Waluigi let out an irritated sigh. That Luigi guy was definitely going to be a problem.

Mario made his way away from Bowser and headed towards the locker rooms. Waluigi told him to wait and Mario turned, confused.

Waluigi stood up. "You're" – he paused – "Mario, right?" He dusted himself off.

Mario nodded. He didn't say much, Waluigi noticed.

Waluigi bent down to grab his tennis racket. "Pauline says hi." Then the lanky man walked away, without another word.

The End ~

Remember when Luigi wasn't a wimp in the Mario games? Ah well. The last bit won't really make sense if you've never seen the intro to Mario Tennis 64. I hate spinoff games, but this was fitting.

The voice in my head is not pleased. I'm not pleased either. This epilogue is better than the other one, which is good, but the entire story . . . I'm just so disappointed. I'm going to rewrite this and post it up again - possibly get a beta reader, but only if my paranoia eases enough to allow me to get one.

Aaaaand there we have it. The first story of mine that is complete and is not a one-shot. This is the most active I've ever been on FF. I'll go back to trying to focus on every other story that I've gotten myself into.

My special thanks to all those that reviewed the story while it was in progress: Coooool123, Verran, Bobby Fruggart (guest), Guest (guest), Derpderpina (guest), and the pick-it fence! I'm glad that you all enjoyed the story.

Criticism or not, all reviews are welcome!

- Great Mistake